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Chicken wings help surgeons advance care

What do chicken wings have in common with neurovascular surgeons? Together they are improving care for patients in Central Minnesota. Thanks to a partnership with Gold’n Plump, Cold Spring, Minn., who provides the chicken wings, surgeons with the Center for Neurosciences hone their surgical skills in a state-of-the-art microvascular training lab at St. Cloud Hospital. The wing’s artery, approximately 1 mm in diameter, is almost identical to a human vessel. In addition, the chicken wings are inexpensive, convenient to manage and easy to obtain. This exercise is useful not only for young surgeons who wish to learn microsurgical techniques but also for more experienced surgeons who need to maintain or improve their skills.

Few university centers in the United States have a microvascular lab. This is the second lab in Minnesota and the only lab in the twin cities and north.

Patients with symptomatic obstruction of the arteries inside the brain have a high risk of subsequent stroke. Anticoagulant and antiplatelet agents may not be effective for many of these patients. Extracranial-intracranial (Ec/Ic) arterial bypass surgery is a treatment option for select patients. The procedure is performed by highly skilled neurosurgeons who have undergone extensive training in microvascular neurosurgery.

Successful surgical outcomes are based on very selective preoperative criteria and surgeon experience. Ec/Ic bypass is appropriate for some patients who experience recurrent TIAs, despite best medical management.

In addition, the surgical treatment of complex aneurysms and skull-based tumors may occasionally require Ec-Ic bypass surgery to maintain cerebral blood flow. With the addition of Jerone Kennedy, MD, to the Neurosurgery department of CentraCare Clinic, St. Cloud Hospital now offers full neurovascular services and is one of only three hospitals in the state to offer Ec-Ic arterial bypass.